Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Ghettoisation

Herein lies my response to the latest jolt from Fat Lad’s cattle prod. Our area is blessed by not having any MTB ride centers but rather some of the best single track to be found anywhere. I suppose there would be some value in the weather-free zone such centers create but to me the setting in which I tear up the course is nearly as important as the course itself.

I am a bike fanatic, a fact about which there can be little dispute. I ride in all kinds of weather, which is a good thing since here in Minnesota we brag about having more of it than most places. A silly claim if you ask me since weather is what’s always happening outdoors and we all have the same amount though I will grant that we may have more variety than many places.

If I were just an MTB’er then I might jump on the ride center bandwagon so that I could keep riding. As it is, when the trails are too wet to ride, I just hit the road and send my wheels over surfaces they won’t destroy as I seek my two-wheeled pleasure. If variety is the spice of life, then my cycling life is very spicy indeed.

So having no MTB ride centers in the area makes it easy for me to lambast them as the McDonalds of off-roading but I’m sure you have figured out by now that if they existed I would at least have to give them a go.

Oh and as for the existence of dedicated bike lanes to protect cyclists from cagers? The question has already been answered in Minneapolis. Here in the land of snow and cold we consistently come in near the top of cities with the highest percentage of bicycle commuters. This happens because we have the dedicated bicycling infrastructure that makes it possible including lots of dedicated bike lanes.